Garment



Sept. 1, 1936. T SMUTNY 2,053,227

GARMENT Filed April 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l T. J. SMUTNY Sept. 1, 1936.

GARMENT Filed April 20, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 77/590035 J. .iMz/rlv/ WW I TTORNEYS Patented Sept. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES GARMENT Theodore J. Smutny, New York, N. Y., assignor to Collegiate Mfg. 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 20, 1936, Serial No. 75,401

7 Claims.

This invention relates to Wearing apparel, especially to undergarments, and while its advantages are more particularly apparent when embodied in the fabrication of an undergarment of the type known as a slip, it may be also used desirably in the fabrication of other garments of an intimate character.

An object of the invention is to provide a garment of the above class which is characterized by a structure so fabricated as to present an equally finished effect upon both surfaces of the garment, so that it may be worn with either surface turned outwardly, and as a corollary, will present an appearance equally as attractive when the garment is turned inside out as when the surface ordinarily regarded as the outside is exposed to view.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment having, in combination, a member of the nature of a brassiere, adapted to encircle the bust of the wearer, made of duplex elements each including a plurality of plies or components, and a lower member adapted to encircle the body below the bust line, the plies of the brassiere being united to each other and to the upper margin of the lower member by seams in which all raw edges of the component plies are concealed, and in which the seams are visibly defined only by rows of stitching.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear when the Specification hereinafter is considered, and is taken in connect on with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a presently preferred form which the invention may assume.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in front perspective of an un-- dergarment of the nature of a slip, in the fabrication of which the present invention has been embodied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view of the garment as illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; f

Fig. 3 is a horizontal, sectional view of the same on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, this view being of a somewhat schematic character:

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, detail view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating a stage of the fabrication in which the assembly and seaming of the components have been only partially completed;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, detail view in vertical section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; but with the two component sections illustrated before they are secured together at their lower edges;

Fig. 6 is a similar view, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; with the lower edges of the sections secured together;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, detail view of the upper portions of the garment, taken in a rotated posi- 5 tion at right angles to the plane of Fig. 4, showing the same parts at the same phase of fabrication, as illustrated in Fig. 4; r

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a trapezoidal ply component having a shape characteristic of several 10 of the components utilized in fabricating the garment shown in the preceding figures; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, detail view in horizontal section, taken on the line 99 of Fig. 7, and illustrating on a larger scale the structure of one of the vertical seams.

Generally and briefly considered in its broader aspects, the invention involves a novel method for fabricating a garment of the class described, and involves as well the novel garment so fabricated, whether partaking of the nature of an undergarment such as a slip, a chemise, or nightwear. In each instance, the garment comprises a skirt or body member and, in combination therewith, an assembly of components which assembly, in its aspect of a completed, unitary structure, will be hereinafter designated as a brassiere member, although it is to be understood that this term is used, merely for the sake of brevity, to designate a member which surrounds the body of the wearer in the region of the bust line, and is not limited to such a member characterized by means to efiect a tight confinement of this region.

In pursuance of the invention, the novel garment may be desirably fabricated of, say, ten pieces, the garment disclosed in the drawings being so composed, merely by way of illustration, since a greater or less number may be utilized, under suitable conditions.

In the now-preferred embodiment of the invention selected for illustration, the member designated generally by the reference character S is a skirt or body member, made up of one or more pieces of suitable piece goods, such as textile fabric, of which that shown in Fig. 1, at s, is composed of a single piece, disposed in tubular fashion, and having its upright meeting edges united by a vertical seam s. This seam is preferably made as a tucked or infolded seam of the known form illustrated in detail in Fig. 9, the overlapped, raw edges II and I! of the meeting margins of the fabric being secured together by a row of stitching l3, and then tucked, and stitched by another row of stitches M. The thickness of this seam is exaggerated in the drawings for the sake of clearness in illustration.

A concealed seam of this sort presents an equally attractive appearance when viewed from either surface of the garment, and two or more such seams may be used, if found desirable in the fabrication of any given garment to which the present invention is applied. In Fig. 4 two vertical seams are shown, the first, 8' being identical with that already described. while 5 designates the second upright seam, diametrically disposed across the width of the skirt S which is made up in this case of two panels or elements S and S (see Fig. 7), which may be substantially symmetrically formed, although not essentially identical in dimensions.

In the instance illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the skirt S is of generally tubular form, and the material is bias-cut, to facilitate the provision of a slightly flared lower hem or margin, as indicated at 15 in Fig. l.

The upper member or portion of the garment is designated generally by the reference character B. and is herein referred to as the brassire member or portion, using that term in a general sense, as already indicated.

This brassire portion, in the instance illustrated, is fabricated of eight component pieces of suitable fabric. which may desirably be similar to the material-of the skirt, if so designed, each of these pieces or components being substantially identical in shape with that of the piece shown in Fig. 8, viz., of the nature of a quadrilateral figure, in this instance a trapezoid, as T.

For the sake of brevity and convenience in description, the shorter sides of each such trapezoidal component are designated 16, H. the longer side is designated l8 and the diagonal side is designated l9. Notches may be provided, as shown in Fig. 8, at different regions where they facilitate the matching and folding over of the raw edges 2 I. in making seams.

The several trapezoidal components are further distinguishable by the reference characters T T etc., to T In assembling and fabricating this brassire member of the garment, I prefer to follow the novel method which I have devised, after prolonged experimentation, and which may be best described, perhaps by reciting the steps in the order in which they are desirably performed, although it is to be understood that immaterial departure from the routine described is not to be regarded as avoiding the idea of means claimed generically as underlying the invention.

Having provided a suitable supply of trapezoidal components, as T to T inclusive, I proceed as follows:

(1) Place T and T (for example) in broadside juxtaposition, one upon the other, with their corresponding raw edges l6, l1, l8. and IS, in registry, and stitch through the contiguous margins at about the distance from the raw edges indicated by the line 2| in Fig. 8, which may be regarded as showing two of the trapezoidal units superimposed for this first stitching operation. The row of stitches 22 (see Fig. 7) extends merely along the matching diagonals I9, thereby completing one complete side ply, shown in Fig. '7 as the under ply, the pieces T and T being there shown, however, in their final position in the garment, as will be described more at length hereinafter.

(2) Two more of the trapezoidal pieces, as for example 'I and T are similarly united along their diagonal sides l9 as by the seam 23, also shown in Fig. 7, it being understood that the ply T T is still separate from the ply T li at this stage. By so forming separate seams, the invention avoids any thick, rigid assembly, at the scye, of the raw edges of the component plies T T T T etc., and thus obviates discomfort at the tender under-arm regions of the wearer, which has constituted a disadvantage of known structures of this type.

(3) The ply T T may now be laid with the raw seam 22 downward, and the ply T -T superimposed thereon with its raw seam 23 upward. the smooth faces of the plies being thus assembled in contiguous relation and having the raw edges of their short sides 16 and H in registry. A row of stitching 24' (see Fig. 5) is run through the margins of the sides l6 and H of the plies T T while they occupy a matching position as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5, after which the ply I -T and the ply T -T are retroverted around the seam 24 to-bring them into the position relatively to each other shown in Fig. 4 and in Fig. 7, with all of the seams, 22, 23 and 24 concealed within the double ply brassire element gore-piece, adapted to occupy a position within, 5

and filling, the V-shaped gore-opening or space defined by the upper material of the skirt or body member. The step now being described effects the preliminary union of the diagonal edge l8 of the piece T to the upper edge 26 of the panel S and the union of the diagonal edge 18 of the piece T to the upper edge 21 of the panel S, as by a row of stitching 25, which, as'clearly apparent from Fig. 7, may be run as a continuous seam.

Regarded from another point of view, the element above described constitutes one of two duplex brassire elements each of which is of twoply unitary structure, and each of which, regardless of the number of its component pieces, is adapted to extend from substantially the center of the chest region downward around one side of the bust toward the waist line under the arm-pit and thence around toward the center of the back.

It is to be understood that, in running the row of stitching, 25, the pieces T -T will be inserted within the skirt, with the smooth side of pieces T T in broadside contiguity with the interior surface of the skirt panels S S and the raw edges of the long trapezoid sides H3 in registry with the raw upper edges 26, 21 of the skirt panels respectively. This step is completed by retroverting the pieces T -T to the full-line position shown in Fig. 5, around the row of stitching as an axis, until the parts occupy the position shown clearly in Fig. 5, which shows how the rows of stitching 24, 25 are both now covered, together with the raw edges of. their seam components, by the retroverted portions of the pieces '1" and T both at the top and the bottom of the brassiere structure.

(5) There now remains only the step of closing the loose margins l8 of the pieces T -T against the raw edges 25, 21 of the panels S S and preparatory to the stitching operation by which this closing securement is effected, the last of the raw edges l8 of the pieces is disposed of by infolding each of them, as indicated at 28, in Fig. 5, after which a row of stitches is run, as shown in Fig. 6, transfixing the infolded, doubled plies 28 and 29 and the margin 26 of the front panel S embraced therebetween. The seam so constituted comprises a fivefold structure, three of the plies being raw edges (viz., l8, l8 and 26).

It will be understood that the above steps, which have been described as performed upon the pieces T -T T -T will be similarly carried out upon the pieces T -T T' -T at the other side of the garment, and in Fig. 4, it will be evident that the gperation has been completed at the right-hand side of the garment.

The stitching 30 may be confined to the lastdescribed securement, as indicated in Fig. '7, leaving the upper margins 3| of the garment smooth, and without evidence of seams; or the stitching 30 may be continued all around the brassiere structure, as exemplified in Fig. 1, according to the taste of the designer of such garments.

In either form, it is evident that all raw edges are infolded, and not merely massed (as in the conventional pinking operation), so that the completed garment shows no evidence of seams other than rows of stitching, at any region.

Shoulder straps 32 are preferably provided, and

may be desirably blind-stitched, in conventional fashion, into the regions 33 constituting thev high points of the garment.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be evident that I have provided a garment of the class described which is completely reversible, so that it can be turned inside out, and still present in each of the positions so selected a finished appearance superior to that of garments which are ordinarily very highly priced by reason of. the labor and skill involved in their fabrication. Not only is my improved garment superior in finish, but by reason of the entire elimination of seam ridges heretofore existing and the lumpy joinings which have been caused by projecting seam components, I avoid sources of discomfort to the wearer due to the pressure of such ridges and lumps into the wearer's flesh, and also due to the riding up of overlying garments which is often caused by the friction of raw seam edges. Such ridges and lumps are also visible through the material of overlying garments and create an untidy appearance which is entirely avoided by the uniformly even, smooth surface presented by each face of my reversible garment.

While I have described and illustrated a particular embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. An intimate body garment of the class described, comprising, in combination, a composite brassiere member formed of a plurality of twoply panels adapted to encircle the bust of the wearer, and a lower member of tubular form adapted to encircle the body below the bust line, having at least one upright seam joining its meeting edges, said body member being adjoined at its upper edges to the lower edges of said brassire member; said garment being characterized by a system of enfolded edge seams including seams uniting to each other the plies of each panel, and seams uniting'to the upper edges of' the body member the lower margins of the brassiere panel plies, said lower margins embracing said upper edge of the body member, and said last named seams running downwardly at each side from a point substantially at the center of the chest, and from a similar point at the back, toward the waist, front and back, and meeting each other under the arm at each side, the upper end of said upright body seam meeting said diagonal seams in a Y shaped joint, the latter including the contiguous raw edges of the upright seam, and the overlapping raw edges of all the plies of said panels contiguous to said joint, said raw edges being inturned between contiguous marginal portions of the panels, thereby avoiding lumpy assembly of plies at the joint and exposed raw edges on either face of the garment, whereby the garment is rendered reversible and may be worn with either side turned outwardly.

2. An intimate body garment of the class de scribed, as claimed in claim 1, said underarm component plies of each panel being free from attachment to each other except at the boundary margins of said panel.

3. An intimate body garment of the class described, as claimed in claim 1, said garment being further characterized by having upwardly extending points, front and rear, the points of each pair being connected from front to rear by a shoulder strap set flatly between the component plies .of the panels at said points; and said brassiere panels being united in a fiat multi-ply joint substantially at the center of the chest and a similar fiat multi-ply joint at the rear of the garment.

4. An intimate garment of the class described, as claimed in claim 1, and in which each ply of each of. said panels is formed of two pieces of fabric having their raw edges inturned and united by an upright underarm seam, said upright seams being free from attachment to each other, whereby the plies are individually conformable to movements of the body, and the structure is free from any thick ridge of fabric formed by a connected assembly of numerous raw edges at the joint.

5. An intimate body garment of the class described, said garment including in combination a brassire member adapted to encircle the bust of the wearer; and a lower member adjoined thereto and adapted to encircle the body below the bust line; said brassiere member being formed of duplex side elements each adapted to extend from substantially the center of the chest region downward around one side of the bust toward the waist line under the arm-pit and thence around toward the center of the back, each side element comprising a pair of plies of fabric stitched together along meeting raw edges throughout the upper marginal boundaries of the element to form a boundary seam, and having said seamed raw edges inturned and enfolded between contiguous marginal portions of said plies; said garment being further characterized by having the upper margin of said lower member embraced between, and secured to, the lower margins of said pair of plies in each of said duplex elements, by a seam which connects the brassiere member and the lower member, and which seam includes a first row of stitching transflxing said upper margin of the lower member and a registering, parallel, inturned raw edge of one ply of said pair of plies, and said last-named seam including also a second row of stitching transfixing the assembled plies, including the exterior margin and inturned edge of each ply of said pair of plies, and including the upper margin of said lower member, whereby each of said duplex brassiere elements is formed, throughout its entire circumference, with inturned raw edge seams enfolded completely by the component ply margins of said element, and whereby all raw edges of both members are concealed, and th garment is rendered reversible and may be worn with either side turned outwardly.

6. An intimate body garment of the class described, comprising the brassiere member and lower member set forth in claim 5, and in which said last-named row of stitching is continued around the entire upper boundaries of the duplex elements.

7. The method of fabricating a reversible intimate garment of the class comprising a tubular body member adapted to encircle the body below the bust line and having at least one upright seam joining its meeting upright edges, and a brassire member composed of duplex side panels each including two plies of fabric; said method including the step of forming said tubular body member from at least one piece of fabric by bending it into tubular shape and forming thereon a flat upright seam and a bottom seam; the step of forming said brassiere elements by stitching together the upper raw edges of plies adapted to form front and rear panel portions of each of said duplex elements, leaving the lower edges free, then retroverting said conjoined plies of each of said elements to inturn said seamed raw edges; the step of tucking said elements within said tubular lower member, and stitching a free raw edge of each of said panels along a mating upper margin of said lower member while said elements are tucked within said tubular lower member; then withdrawing said elements to invert and fold the raw edges of the panels so conjoined to the upper raw edges of said lower member; then the step of infolding the free margin of the heretofore unattached exterior ply of one of said panels, and the step of forming a second row of stitches through said infolded lower panel margins and the upper margin of i said lower body member embraced thereby; the step of successively infolding the free margin of the heretofore unattached exterior ply of the other panel and superimposing its ends upon the already stitched ends of the first-named panel 1 at a point near the center of the chest and at a. similar point at'the back; then forming a second row of stitches through said points and through said infolded lower panel margins and the upper margin of said lower body member 1:

embraced thereby; said last-named second row of stitches being formed in continuation of said first-named second row of stitches in such fashion as to define visibly the joint between said brassiere and said lower member, and said rows 2 of stitching constituting a seam disposed angularly to the upright fiat seam and including the upper portions of the raw edge margins comprised in said upright seam; whereby the prodnot of said method is characterized by having all 5 raw meeting edges of the several panel plies and of said lower member included as inturned, enfolded, invisible seam components, with flat multi-ply joints at all points where the seams meet,

and thereby the garment is rendered reversible, all

and may be worn with either side turned outwardly.

THEODORE J. SMUTNY. 

